Database selection in distributed computing systems

• US 10,375,202 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2017
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Gopal, Burra, Mulubagilu Panduranga Rao, Krishna Raghava, Macatangay, Darell, Kabore, Patrick, Somasundaram, Ramanathan, Stanciu, Constantin, Squires, Sean
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Merilyn P
• Application Number:
  US15/499,412
• Publication Number:
  US 20180314720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/08 Sorting, i.e. grouping record carriers in numerical or other ordered sequence according to the classification of at least some of the information they carry by merging two or more sets of carriers in ordered sequence G06F7/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70

Abstract

Techniques for database selection during site provisioning in distributed computing systems are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method can include receiving a user request for a site to be hosted on one or more nodes in the distributed computing system. In response to the received user request, one of the databases is selected by randomly selecting a set of databases from a list of available databases, determining a subset of databases each having a lower level of database load than the other databases from the set of databases, and randomly selecting one database from the subset of databases. The method further includes storing a configuration file for the site in the randomly selected one database to enable the site to be accessible, the configuration file containing data representing one or more of module loading control, security configuration, session state configuration, application language, or compilation setting of the site.

Claims

1. A method of database selection during site provisioning in a distributed computing system having multiple nodes individually hosting one or more databases, the method comprising:

receiving, via a computer network, a user request to initiate a provisioning process for a site to be hosted on one or more nodes in the distributed computing system; and

in response to the received user request,

generating a configuration file containing data representing one or more of module loading control, security configuration, session state configuration, application language, or compilation setting of the site;

selecting one of the databases hosted on the nodes, including;

randomly selecting a first number of databases from a list of available databases in the distributed computing system;

determining a second number of databases with lower levels of database load than the other databases from the first number of databases; and

randomly selecting one database from the determined second number of databases; and

storing the generated configuration file for the site in the randomly selected one database, thereby achieving a generally even distribution of database loads among the list of available databases in the distributed computing system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating the configuration file and the selecting one of the databases hosted on the nodes are performed concurrently.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting one of the databases hosted on the nodes further includes:

transmitting a status query to the individual first number of database, the status query requesting a load status of the individual first number of databases;

receiving a status report from the individual first number of databases, the status report containing data indicating the requested load status of the individual first number of databases; and

wherein selecting the second number of databases includes selecting the second number of databases with least amount of load based on the status reports received from the first number of databases.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting one of the databases hosted on the nodes further includes:

transmitting a status query to the individual first number of databases, the status query requesting a load status of the individual first number of databases;

receiving a status report from the individual first number of databases, the status report containing data indicating the requested load status of the individual first number of databases; and

wherein selecting the second number of databases includes;

sorting the first number of databases by load according to the data contained in the received status reports indicating the load status of the individual first number of databases; and

selecting the second number of databases with least amount of load from the sorted first number of databases by load.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring a number of databases that have failed among the first number of randomly selected databases;

determining whether the number of databases that have failed exceeds a threshold; and

in response to determining that the number of databases that have failed exceeds the threshold, interrupting the generating of the configuration file for the site.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring a number of databases that have failed among the first number of randomly selected databases;

determining whether the number of databases that have failed exceeds a threshold; and

in response to determining that the number of databases that have failed does not exceed the threshold, allowing selection of the second number of databases with least amount of load from the randomly selected first number of databases.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to another user request to access the site,

retrieving the configuration file from the database at which the generated configuration file is stored; and

providing a webpage of the site according to the data contained in the configuration file representing one or more of module loading control, security configuration, session state configuration, application language, or compilation setting of the site.

8. A method of database selection during site provisioning in a distributed computing system having multiple nodes individually hosting one or more databases, the method comprising:

receiving, via a computer network, a user request for a site to be hosted on one or more nodes in the distributed computing system; and

in response to the received user request, selecting one of the databases hosted on the nodes, including;

randomly selecting a set of databases from a list of available databases in the distributed computing system;

determining a subset of the set of randomly selected databases, the subset of databases each having a lower level of database load than the other databases from the set of databases;

randomly selecting one database from the subset of databases; and

storing a configuration file for the site in the randomly selected one database to enable the site to be accessible, the configuration file containing data representing one or more of module loading control, security configuration, session state configuration, application language, or compilation setting of the site.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising generating the configuration file separately from randomly selecting the one database from the subset of databases.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising, in response to the received user request:

transmitting a status query to the individual databases in the randomly selected set, the status query requesting a load status of the individual databases;

receiving a status report from the individual databases in response to the transmitted status query, the status report containing data indicating the requested load status of the individual databases; and

wherein determining the subset of databases includes selecting the subset of databases based on the status reports received from the set of databases.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising, in response to the received user request:

individually transmitting a status query to the set of databases, the status query requesting a load status of the set of databases;

receiving a status report from the individual databases from the set, the status report containing data indicating the requested load status of the individual databases from the set; and

wherein determining the subset of databases includes;

sorting the set of databases by load according to the data contained in the received status reports; and

selecting a preset number of databases with least amount of load from the sorted set of databases as the subset of databases.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

monitoring a number of databases that have failed among the set of randomly selected databases;

determining whether the number of databases that have failed exceeds a threshold; and

in response to determining that the number of databases that have failed exceeds the threshold, terminating a provisioning process for the site.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

in response to another user request to access the site,

retrieving the configuration file from the database at which the generated configuration file is stored; and

providing a webpage of the site according to the data contained in the configuration file representing the one or more of module loading control, security configuration, session state configuration, application language, or compilation setting of the site.

14. A computing device in a distributed computing system having multiple nodes individually hosting one or more databases, the computing device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory operatively coupled to the processor, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor to cause the computing device to;

in response to a received user request for a site to be hosted on one or more nodes in the distributed computing system,

randomly select a set of databases from a list of available databases in the distributed computing system;

determine a subset of databases each having a level of database load lower than that of the other databases from the randomly selected set of databases;

randomly select a single database from the determined subset of databases;

provision the site by storing a configuration file of the site in the randomly selected single database, the configuration file containing data representing one or more of module loading control, security configuration, session state configuration, application language, or compilation setting of the site; and

provide, via the computer network, a webpage of the site in response to another user request according to the data contained in the configuration file representing the one or more of module loading control, security configuration, session state configuration, application language, or compilation setting of the site.

15. The computing device of claim 14 wherein to randomly select the set of databases includes to randomly select a number of databases from the list of available databases in the distributed computing system, wherein the number of databases randomly selected is adjustable.

16. The computing device of claim 14 wherein:

to randomly select a set of databases includes to randomly select a first number of databases from the list of available databases in the distributed computing system; and

to determine the subset of databases includes to determine a second number of databases each having a level of database load lower than that of the other databases from the randomly selected set of databases;

both the first and second numbers are adjustable based on a current level of database load distribution.

17. The computing device of claim 14 wherein the memory contains additional instructions executable by the processor to cause the computing device to:

monitor a number of databases that have failed among the set of randomly selected databases;

determine whether the number of databases that have failed exceeds a threshold; and

in response to determining that the number of databases that have failed exceeds the threshold, terminating provisioning for the site.

18. The computing device of claim 14 wherein the memory contains additional instructions executable by the processor to cause the computing device to:

monitor a number of databases that have failed among the set of randomly selected databases;

determine whether the number of databases that have failed exceeds a threshold; and

in response to determining that the number of databases that have failed exceeds the threshold, continuing provisioning the site by storing a configuration file of the site in the randomly selected single database.

19. The computing device of claim 14 wherein the memory contains additional instructions executable by the processor to cause the computing device to:

subsequent to randomly select the set of databases,

transmit a status query to the individual databases in the randomly selected set, the status query requesting a load status of the individual databases;

receive a status report from the individual databases in response to the transmitted status query, the status report containing data indicating the requested load status of the individual databases; and

wherein to determine the subset of databases includes to determine the subset of databases by comparing the load status contained in the received status reports of the databases in the randomly selected set.

20. The computing device of claim 19 wherein:

to randomly selected set of databases includes a number of databases from the list of available databases in the distributed computing system; and

the memory contains additional instructions executable by the processor to cause the computing device to;

determine whether an elapsed time between transmitting the status queries and receiving the status reports exceeds a threshold; and

in response to determining that elapsed time between transmitting the status queries and receiving the status reports exceeds the threshold, decrease the number of databases in the randomly selected set.